Blister type package



Dec. 5, 1961 H. A. ROHDIN BLISTER TYPE PACKAGE Filed May 27. 1958 lllmilli INVENTOR. fi q 4- F 510! Ross C. A/qr-r-ef United States Patent3,011,629 BLISTER TYPE PACKAGE Howard A. Rohdin, 397 Forest Ave., GlenRidge, NJ. Filed May 27, 1958, Ser. No. 738,126 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-4531)It is an object of this invention to provide a package of the blistertype which is cheaper and easier to make than those now in use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a package asaforesaid suitable for prestige items.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a package asaforesaid which enhances visibility of the contents while affording morecomplete protection to the contents.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a package asaforesaid which permits manual manipulation of the contents withoutaffecting the protection afforded by the package.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a package asaforesaid in which the blister is hermetically enclosed and is securedto a box blank or a portion thereof.

The above and other objects of this invention will be made clear fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with the annexeddrawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a blister blank;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the blank of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section of the assembled package just prior tosealing;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the completed package;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of a modified form of blank; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view illustrating the assembly of FIGURE 5.

Blister packaging has made spectacular progress in the packaging field.The package, conventionally, consists of a molded shell of, usually,transparent plastic heatsealed to a sheet of paperboard. Identifyingindicia are printed on the paperboard on the side to which the blisterof plastic is affixed, and the board is coated with a thermoplasticmaterial to which the blister may be heatsealed. Compatability betweenthe inks and the coating is difiicult to achieve, and, regardless of theprotection afforded by the plastic blister, the package is only asmoisture and gas proof as the coated paperboard, which, withineconomically permissible limits, is not very much.

In addition, the blister package at this time has become associated onlywith low priced merchandise and without a radical change in itsappearance will be forgver barred from the packaging of high pricedmerchan- The present invention attacks the problem by reversing theusual practice. The blister is a completely sealed entity, thepaperboard is coated on the side opposite the printing, and the coatingon the board acts merely as a means of attachment to the plasticblister. The board is windowed and forms the top, instead of the bottomof the package. The package, moreover, is perfectly adapted toautomation in forming, filling, sealing and assembly.

Referring now -to FIGURE 1 there is shown a blank 10 having a blister 12formed in one side, the other side 14 being plain. A flange 16 surroundsthe blister 12 and a line of weakening 18 divides the blank into equalparts. In practice, these blanks will be formed in parallel consecutiverows from a continuous web of plastic material. The actual formation ofthe blister 12 may be done by any conventional means such as areillustrated 3,011,629 PatentedDec. 5, 1961 in Modern PackagingEncyclopacdia for 1958, particularly at page 437.

FIGURE 2 presents the blank 10 in end elevation. After the insertion ofcontents in blister 12, the panel 14 is folded around the line 18 in thedirection of the arrow 20 so that the edge 22 of the panel 14substantially coincides with the edge 24 of the flange 16. The resultingrelationship is shown in FIGURE 3 including the contents 28. A card 30is superimposed upon the panel 14 and has a window 32 which registerswith the blister 12 and exposes the contents 28. Optionally, the cardmay be provided with an aperture 34 to facilitate display, as by hangingon a rack.

With the parts in the condition of FIGURE 3, heat and pressure areapplied in the direction of the arrows 40. This results in sealing themargins of the panel 14 throughout the area of the flange 16, therebyhermetically sealing the chamber defined by the blister 12. At the sametime, the upper surface of the panel 14 is heat-sealed to the undersurface of the card 30, which surface has been appropriately coated forthis purpose. The resultant package is shown in FIGURE 4, with thecontents 28 displayed through the opening 32 in the card 30. Printedmatter 42 has been applied to the outer surface of the card 30. This isthe side opposite the thermally sensitive coated side, so there is noproblem of compatibility between the inks and the coating. By properselection of the plastic material and by proper design of the blister12, the blister may be made manually deformable to permit manipulationof the contents without disturbance of the seal.

In FIGURES 5 and 6 a blister pack 50, in the form shown in FIGURE 3,underlies a window 52 in one panel 54 of a box blank 56. The blank 56 ismade up of a bottom 58, side walls 60 and end walls 62, with the panel54 forming a top or lid. This particular box blank is one of thesimplest and is purely illustrative. Any form of blank could be used andin fact, the panel 54 could be separately formed and properly flanged toact as a lid for a separately formed box.

It is also possible, and in some cases desirable, to make the panel 14from a separate sheet of plastic which, dependent on the circumstancesof the packaging operation, may be laminated to the paperboardattachment.

In the sealing of certain plastic films, one to another, notably in thecase of acetates and certain of the vinyl films, there is, on cooling, aserious tendency toward warping or deformation of the films within thearea of the seal. This problem was recognized and dealt with in myPatent No. 2,392,695 dated January 8, 1946. In the instant invention,the paperboard being simultaneously sealed to the lid which is alsosimultaneously sealed to the flange, acts as a stiffener, holding theplastic seals against distortion even though the holding pressure of theheat sealing means be relieved. Accordingly, the cycle time need be onlyenough to effectuate the seal and there need be no dwell provided forcooling the seal while the same is under mechanical restraint. Thisinvolves a method aspect as well as an article aspect.

It will be clear that the present invention removes any possiblelimitation on the ornamental character of blister packaging while at thesame time providing a hermetically sealed blister.

I claim:

A package comprising: a blister formed in a sheet of plastic material,said blister having an open side entirely surrounded by a flange; a lidof plastic material overlying said open side and being substantiallycoextensive with and heat-sealed to said flange; and a sheet ofpaperboard sealed to said lid within the area of said flange, saidpaperboard having an aperture registering with said blister and havingprinted indicia on the side opposite the side sealed to said lid andsaid paperboard being cut and scored to form, itself, a completecontainer for said blister.

9 References Citedin the file of this patent i 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS I708,731 Pike Sept. 9, 1902 1,945,251 Andrews et a1 Jan. 30, 19342,252,147 Warren Aug. 12, 1941 10 2,568,625 Harvey Sept. 18, 1951 4Smith May 19, 1953 Marshall Aug. 18, 1953- Deitz Aug. 7, 1956 SilverMar. 12, 1957 De Woskin et al Aug. 27, 1957 Saeks Mar. 17, 1959 FOREIGNPATENTS Great Britain Sept. 17, 1934 France Sept. 12, 1949 France June25, 1956

